Anarchy, Angels and Other Things
by AudreyF
Summary: What I think should happen the summer after season 2 and my version of what would be season 3. I've got 50 chapters planned. On hiatus.
1. You Thought It Was Just A Metaphor

**Anarchy, Angels and Other Things**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything JoA related, except a perfectly legal copy of the season 1 DVD. This is simply a figment of my imagination.

Summary: What I think should happen the summer after season 2 and my version of what would be season 3.

Rating: PG?

JoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoAJoA

Adam was walking down the sidewalk to Grace's house one warm, late May morning when a beautiful blonde girl about his age came up and started walking beside him.

"Hello Adam," she said politely.

"Uh, hi. Do I know you?" he replied, glancing at her as they walked.

"No, you don't," she answered plainly.

"Um, okay, who are you?" Adam said, getting slightly frustrated.

"I'm an angel, Adam," she said softly as she stared at him.

"An, an angel?" he stopped walking and faced her, squinting in the sunlight.

"Yes, you thought it was just a metaphor, but, now it's not," she said sweetly.

"How do I know you're really an angel?" Adam was skeptical.

"You kept that panty shot of Joan, it's on your computer desktop," she told him seriously.

At that Adam turned several shades of red.

"I'm here to ask you to do a few things," she said, changing the subject.

"Like what?" he said, still slightly embarrassed.

"You need to get Joan back, and soon," was the angel's firm answer.

"Why?" Adam didn't think that was possible, but, he didn't think it would be a good idea to argue with an angel.

"Don't ask why, just do it, and don't put it off," she said, still staring at him.

"I have a question," he said after a long pause.

"Yes?" the angel replied gently.

"Is it bad that I think you're, um, hot?" he looked down at his shoes and kicked a pebble.

"I won't always look like this, you'll be seeing a lot of me. You need to win Joan back, and not just as a friend," she explained seriously.

With that she walked off, waving over her shoulder as she went.

Adam contemplated what had just happened as he headed for Grace's house.

When he got to her house the rabbi informed him that she had just gone over to the Girardis' house.

Adam sighed and set out for Joan's house.


	2. Another Riddle

Joan was in the kitchen eating a pop tart when Grace showed up at the back door.

Grace knocked and then let herself in.

"Hey Grace," Joan said around a mouthful of pop tart.

"Hey, your brother home?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's in his room," Joan nodded.

"Thanks," Grace said, heading up to his room.

Joan made a funny face as she watched Grace go upstairs.

She still wasn't used to the idea of her best friend and little brother being a couple.

As Joan was finishing her pop tart her cell phone rang.

It wasn't her normal ring tone, it was the all to familiar ring tone God used.

Sure enough the screen on her phone said 'God' in big bold letters.

"What?" she said with a groan.

"You are going to be going through some rough times Joan," came a male voice of God.

"What else is new?" Joan said with as much sarcasm she could muster in the morning.

"Just listen to Adam," God said before hanging up the phone.

"Wait, God! Aargh!" frustrated, she shut the phone off.

"He just shows up one day, asks me to do stuff, stuff I don't want to do, make a fool of myself…" she grumbled as she stomped up the stairs.

"Are you okay honey?" Helen asked coming down the stairs.

"Fine! I'm fine," Joan said putting her hand up to signal that she didn't want to talk.

She went up to her room and threw the phone down on her bed.

"Adam?" she mumbled, wondering what God meant.

"Thanks God! Another riddle!" she said to the ceiling before she fell backwards onto her bed.

"Ow!" Joan yelped after landing on the phone.


	3. A Year Ago Today

"Hey geek," Grace said, flopping down on Luke's bed.

"Hey Grace," Luke replied as he finished something up on his computer.

"What's this?" Grace asked picking up a gift-wrapped box on his bed.

"Oh, that. It's for you," he said turning his chair to face her.

"What for? Some sort of Catholic holiday I missed the memo on?" she replied sarcastically.

"No, a year ago today you kissed me when I was walking you home from the hospital," he answered, hoping she wouldn't get mad.

"You remembered that?" she asked, trying to hide her grin.

"Of course, open it," he said, sitting down next to her.

She lifted the lid of the box and picked up the gift, it was a black tank top with the word anarchist scrawled across the front.

"Geek," she said, smiling before leaning in to kiss him.

"What is it Grace?" he could tell that she wanted to tell him something.

"Nothing, it's nothing," she looked away from him.

"Yes, it is something. I can tell," Luke said seriously.

"How come you agreed to that secrecy contract last summer?" she said after fighting herself not to say anything.

"I don't know," he said after a pause.

"Dude, you a science geek, I thought you had an answer for everything!" Grace joked.

"Well, why did you make the contract?" Luke countered.

"Uh, well, because I was trying to prove a point," Grace stammered.

"What kind of point?" he said frowning, trying to understand.

"Look forget I brought it up, okay?" she said, standing up to leave.

"Grace," he said softly, pulling her back down.

"I wanted to prove to you that you couldn't handle being with me," she mumbled.

"Well, I guess I proved you wrong then, huh?" he said grinning.

She just smiled and kissed him again.

"Price said I can move up a grade this fall," Luke said, breaking the silence.

"So are you gonna do it?" Grace asked, hoping that he would.

"Do you want me to?" he questioned, looking into her eyes.

"It would drive your sister nuts, so yeah, why not?" she tried not to laugh.

"Glynis and Friedman have the chance to move up to," he stated.

"Now Joan's really gonna freak," she said as they both laughed.


	4. Hoping He Would Be Okay Again

Adam walked up to the front door of Joan's house but couldn't bring himself to ring the bell.

He sat down on the porch to think.

Thoughts raced through his head faster than he could process them.

…_How could I cheat on Jane like that?..._

…_She saw me at the bottom, helped me read my mom's note…._

…_She smashed my art, but then again, if she didn't I would have dropped out of school…._

…_How could I not believe her when she said she talks to God?..._

…_Was that really an angel I saw today?..._

…_What did she mean about Joan needing me?..._

…_Joan hates me, she doesn't need me…._

…_I'd probably just hurt her again…._

…_Why did I ever hook up with Bonnie in the first place?..._

His thoughts continued like this for a long time until he realized the door was opening.

He stood up and looked to see who was coming out.

"What are you doing moping out here?" Grace asked.

"I came to talk to Jane," he said, adjusting his beanie.

"She's inside," Grace answered, pointing at the door.

"I know, but I can't talk to her," he replied, looking confused.

"Huh? Lemme get this straight, you came to talk to Joan, but not to talk to Joan?" Grace frowned and looked at him for an answer.

"I just got scared," was his reply after a long pause.

"I agree, she's a little wacko, but she's still stupid about you. Go talk to her," Grace said, starting to walk away.

"She is?" his faced brightened a bit as he turned to walk with her.

"Duh!" Grace said glancing at him.

"Not today, I just can't after all I did," was all he said.

"Understood," she said, falling into step with him as they headed down the sidewalk.

"What's that?" he asked as he pointed to the box.

"Luke gave it to me," she said, showing it to him.

"You really like him Grace?" Adam asked, thinking about Joan.

"Yeah," she finally said with a sigh.

"But I loved Jane, I still do, how could I screw things up like that?" he said, more to himself than to Grace.

"I don't know dude," she said without looking at him.

They walked along in silence until they got to Adam's shed.

Grace sat down on a stool across from Adam and watched him twist metal.

She could tell there was something he wasn't telling her.

For now she just sat with him, hoping he would be okay again.


	5. This Strange Phenomenon

Grace had left hours ago but Adam was still in his shed twisting together a sculpture and mentally beating himself up.

…_Jerk!... Stupid!... Moron!... Idiot!..._

He had been saying stuff like this to himself for quite a while.

A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts.

"It's open," he said, bent over the sculpture.

"Adam," an elderly man in the doorway said.

"Yeah?" he replied, looking up.

"You didn't talk to Joan, why?" the man asked sternly.

"Who are you?" Adam asked, hoping he was wrong.

"Adam, you know who I am," the angel frowned at him.

"An angel," he said, still not quite believing this strange phenomenon.

"Exactly, go talk to Joan," he said before turning to leave.

"But…" Adam searched for something to say.

Adam watched the angel wave over his shoulder as he walked away.

He put his head down on the table banging his head repeatedly against it.

_Stupid! _Bang!_ Stupid! _Bang!_ Stupid!_ Bang!

Once he had a headache he stopped.

He knew what he needed to do, he just didn't know why.

Then he remembered that Joan had said the same thing last year at the hospital.

He finished his sculpture and put it on the shelf.

With a sigh he stood up and slowly made his way back to the Girardis' house.


	6. Just Go

Adam walked up to the Girardis' front door and rang the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" Joan yelled as she ran down the stairs.

"Hey," he said quietly when she opened the door.

"Adam, what are you doing here?" she asked, not knowing whether to be mad or happy.

"Can we talk?" he asked, stepping closer.

"Sure, yeah, come on in," she said as she headed to the living room and sat down on the couch.

Adam sat down next to her but didn't say anything.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked after a long silence.

"Will we ever be us again?" was all he said.

"You mean like a couple?" she replied.

Adam nodded.

"No," she said firmly.

"Oh, uh, look Jane, I'm really, really sorry," he said, looking very disappointed.

"I know Adam," was all she could say.

"Remember when you said you talk to God and I didn't believe you?" he questioned, catching her off guard.

"Yeah," she said skeptically.

"I believe you now," he said, looking straight at her.

"Is this some weird way to try to win me back after all you did?" she said angrily, standing up.

"No, no Jane, that's not what I meant," he said, standing up and placing his hands on her arms trying to calm her down.

"Then what do you mean?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"I talk to angels," Adam said flat out.

"I know that. You've told me before," she replied, trying not to cry.

"No, I really do. Real angels," he said, trying to convince Joan.

"What?" Joan was getting angry again.

"Just today, twice. I was going to Grace's this morning when I saw her for the first time. She told me to talk to you but I got scared and then this afternoon in my shed the angel was an old guy and he said I should have come over and told me to go back and so I did, but I don't know why or what to do," Adam was surprised how it all just came out.

Joan sat back down still staring at him.

"I loved you, wasn't that enough?" she said after a long pause.

He remained silent, angry with himself.

"Wasn't it?" she yelled, almost crying.

"Just go," she said before he could reply.

Adam brushed her tears away and silently walked out.


	7. It's Not That Simple

Joan was in a fog the rest of the day.

Crying hurt and confused, still in love with Adam, too.

She wondered if what he said was true, about talking to angels.

"I'm going out for a walk," Joan said to no one in particular as she headed out for the park.

Alone in her thoughts she slowly walked to the park.

"Oh, god!" she said, feeling absolutely sick once she got to the park and saw Bonnie sitting on the bench.

She attempted to leave unnoticed.

"Joan!" Bonnie called after her.

"What do you want?" Joan asked angrily, holding back more tears.

"I'm moving, my dad's in the army so we move around a lot, I'll be gone next week," Bonnie said, hoping for a bit of sympathy.

"Good!" she replied forcefully.

"He never loved me," she said after a long pause.

Joan chuckled, but it came out between that and a sob.

"Seriously!" Bonnie said, getting mad.

"Why did you ever hook up with him?" Joan asked choking back tears.

"Because I could, I mean, he wanted to," she couldn't find a good answer.

Joan grimaced at that.

"It's over between us, he hasn't talked to me since the mock court thing, so you don't have to worry about that," Bonnie replied, getting quite annoyed.

"Yeah, your not the only one, it's over for me too," Joan said as she looked away.

Bonnie looked just slightly guilty before finding an excuse to leave.

Joan sat down on the bench feeling exhausted.

"Hello there," Old Lady God said, sitting down next to her.

"Not now," she said as she cried.

"I know it hurts, dear. Adam is hurting too. Be open to him, listen to him, he's trying," God replied plainly.

"It's not that simple," Joan argued.

"Yes it is," was all She said.

They sat for a while longer in silence before God suddenly left, waving over Her shoulder.


	8. A Little Angel

Adam was walking home from visiting his mother's grave when he saw Joan sitting on the park bench, looking like she had been crying.

He wanted to go over and talk to her, but he decided against it.

He quietly opened his bag and took out the sculpture he had been working on earlier.

He walked up behind her and gently set it down on the bench beside her and walked away.

Joan knew he was there, but she didn't want to talk to him yet.

She almost said something but she couldn't.

When she knew he was really gone she picked up the sculpture, it was a little angel.

Someone who didn't know Adam's art well may never have known what it could possibly be, but Joan knew it was an angel.

Chicken wire wings, some piping for the body, a large bolt for the head and wire for the halo.

"Does he really talk to angels?" she whispered to herself.

A blue ball rolled toward her and bumped into her feet.

"He does, Joan," Little Girl God said, retrieving Her ball.

"Back so soon, it's been what, an hour since you last bugged me?" was Joan's sarcastic reply.

"I'm not bugging, I'm asking you to take on one simple task," She said, adjusting Her glasses.

"But, I… he…" Joan searched for something to say.

"Joan," She replied giving her a 'this is pathetic' look.

She walked off with Her ball and waved.


	9. The Divine Wave

It took Joan a few days to go and talk to Adam, but on Saturday she finally did.

"Adam, can we talk?" she asked from the doorway of his shed.

"Jane! Yeah, sure," he said with more excitement than he intended.

They walked slowly to the park in silence.

"I'm sorry about, you know, the angel thing," Joan said, breaking the silence.

"It's okay, I'm mean I didn't believe you at first either," he replied, looking at his shoes.

"So, do you see them a lot?" she asked, sitting down on a bench in the shade.

"It just started happening so I don't know, I mean it's already happened 4 times," Adam said, sitting down beside her.

"Why do you think this is happening to us?" she turned to face him.

"I don't know," was all he said after a pause.

"Hi Joan," someone said from behind her.

"Oh, it's you," she said once Goth God came into view.

"I'm glad you're talking to Adam," His dark eyes stared at her.

"Yeah, well, it's what you told me to do," she was wondering why He was talking to her in front of Adam.

"Good, see you around Adam," He said before leaving with His trademark wave.

"Was that God?" Adam asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, but He's never done that before, talking to me in front of other people like that," Joan replied.

They talked awhile longer and she told him about some of the things God had asked her to do and he told her about his encounters with angels.

"Good to see you Adam," a voice interrupted them.

"Huh? Oh, hi," Adam recognized the dorky band player as an angel.

"I'm pleased that you are talking to Joan. Keep up the good work," he said adjusting the trombone case.

Adam didn't know what to say.

"See you later Joan," he called as he left, waving just like God.

"I'm guessing that was an angel?" she asked, pointing at him.

He nodded.

"What's with the divine wave from all these people?" Joan asked with a chuckle.

They laughed and talked some before going their separate ways home.


	10. Dumb And Dumber

"Hey Luke! Get your girlfriend over here, Adam's coming over so we can all watch movies together," Joan said as she poured popcorn into a bowl.

"Adam Rove?" Luke asked in shock.

"Yes rocket boy, go call Grace," she replied, shoving him towards the phone.

An hour later everyone was settled in and arguing over which movie to watch.

"We are not watching The Godfather!" Joan insisted.

"How about Tommy Boy?" Adam chimed in.

"Dude, you made me watch that too many times when we were kids. No!" Grace argued.

"We could watch Titanic and watch Joan cry over those stupid songs," Luke teased.

"Luke!" Joan threw a pillow at him.

"It's true!" he ducked as the pillow flew at him.

"Here, were watching this one," Joan put a DVD in the player.

"Dumb and Dumber?" Grace groaned.

About an hour later the front door opened.

"Hey! What are you guys watching?" Kevin asked, coming in with Lily after their date.

"Dumb and Dumber," Joan replied with her eyes glued to the screen.

"I've got to go to the station," Will said as he put his coat on hurriedly.

"Why?" asked Kevin.

"Apparently someone was stupid enough to vandalize the police station," he answered before heading out the door.

"Wow, that is stupid," Lily agreed.

"Helen, hi," Lily greeted Helen as she and Kevin entered the kitchen.

"Oh, Lily, hi!" she greeted her with a smile though still feeling weird about Lily dating her son.

"Did Dad tell you he was leaving?" Kevin asked as he went to the table.

"Yeah, I just can't figure out who would vandalize the station," Helen chuckled.

Will got back when Grace and Adam were leaving.

"So, did you figure out who did it?" Joan asked as she cleaned up the living room.

"We're not certain, but it may be connected to the people who vandalized the church and burned the synagogue," he replied, sitting down on the couch.

"Oh," Joan wanted to try and tell her father about Ryan again but she saw how tired he was so she decided it could wait.

"Well, goodnight Daddy," she kissed him on the cheek and headed up the stairs.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," he replied.


	11. Do What The Angel Said

"Adam be careful," an angel, looking like a punk, said as he was walking out to the shed.

"Careful of what?" Adam had grown used to the angels just showing up over the past few weeks.

"Even people who seem to have good intentions may have evil intentions. Just pay attention, you'll know," he waved and left.

That afternoon when Adam was headed to the junkyard to look for metal to make more sculptures he ran into Ryan Hunter.

"Adam, good to see you again, and not in a rainstorm," Ryan said with his usual intent stare.

"Ryan, hey," Adam was glad to see the person who saved him.

"Where are you headed?" he continued to stare.

"Junkyard," Adam started walking again.

"Why?" he asked as he walked next to Adam.

"For my art," he didn't know why, but Ryan was starting to get on his nerves.

"Ah, well, I'd better be going," he replied as he saw God coming towards them.

Ryan rudely passed Goth God as he made his way to Adam.

"Hello Adam," God said to him.

"Uh, hi. Shouldn't you be talking to Jane?" Adam was obviously confused.

"I talk to everybody. Not everyone listens though. Just do what the angel said," Goth God waved as He turned and walked off in the opposite direction of Ryan.

After Adam got home from the junkyard he went to go see Joan at the bookstore.

"Hey Adam!" she smiled, glad to see him.

"Hey," Adam replied with a small wave.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she put books away.

"God talked to me today." he wasted no time getting to the point.

"Really? What did He say?" Joan asked curiously.

"Yeah, all he said was to do what the angel said, but the angel didn't make much sense," he replied.

"Yeah, well, God isn't exactly clear all the time either," she continued to organize the books.

"Do you think that the angels will talk to you now?" Adam wondered out loud.

"I don't know. What did the angel say anyway?" Joan asked.

"Be careful," he answered.

"That was vague," Joan looked at him.

"Yeah, that was it and then he just left, it's kind of annoying," Adam chuckled.

They stood there in an awkward silence for a moment.

"Well, I better get going," he turned to the door.

"Okay," she turned back to her work.


	12. Everything Is Connected

"Good morning Joan!" Power Walking God said, coming up beside her.

"Oh, it's you," Joan said, struggling to keep up.

"You're right to be concerned about Ryan, he has to potential be quite dangerous," She took deep breaths as She continued her power walking.

"Potential! Ryan is dangerous! He burns down temples and vandalizes churches and police stations. Not to mention he's really, really creepy!" Joan argued.

"Don't be afraid to talk to people about Me," God said as they sat down on the bench.

"Wait, I thought we were talking about Ryan," she replied, frowning in confusion.

"Everything is connected Joan. Talk to people about me, you'll know when the time is right," God stood up, waved and walked away quickly.

The bus came and Joan went to work. After her shift she went to talk to Adam.

"Adam," Joan went into the shed and saw him working on a new sculpture.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Adam asked as he set his tools down.

"Have you talked to any angels lately?" she questioned as she sat down on a stool.

"Uh, not today. Why?" Adam was concerned.

"Well, I talked to God today and She said that Ryan has the potential to be dangerous," she paused knowing how Adam felt about Ryan.

"How can Ryan be dangerous Jane? He saved my life," he fiddled with wire on the table.

"Well, he burned the synagogue, trashed the church and vandalized the station. Plus, he thinks he's better that God. He talks to God too, but he gets angry at God and doesn't do what he's told to," Joan said hoping he wouldn't be mad at her.

"How do you know he did all that?" he asked looking at his art.

"I just know," was all she said.

"Did God tell you?" he didn't want to believe what she had just said.

"No, but you have to believe me Adam. He's evil," Joan said adamantly.

They were both silent for a while.

"Okay," he replied quietly.

"Really? You believe me?" she seemed unsure.

"Yeah, I mean, I didn't believe you about God, but you do talk to Him. You just seem so sure and Ryan is starting to get to me. I don't know why though," he said looking into her eyes.

"Thank you," she said relieved.

She got up and kissed him on the cheek before she left.


	13. Science Can Prove The Existence Of God

"Luke!" Joan yelled, coming up to his room.

"Yes?" he was absorbed in a project on the computer.

"You believe in God right?" she asked, sitting down on his bed.

"Science can prove the existence of God, so I can't argue," he replied still working on the computer.

"And God can, like, look like a human and talk to people right?" she was starting to wonder why she had ever decided to talk to Luke about this in the first place.

"I suppose," he turned his chair to face her.

"And people can talk to Him and He can look different every time someone sees Him?" Joan asked hoping he wouldn't go into some science lecture.

"It's possible," Luke knew better that to start ranting about science with Joan.

"Well, what if I said I've talked to God and that He doesn't always look the same?" she was hoping he wouldn't think she was nuts and end up in crazy camp again.

"I'd say it's highly unlikely but that it's not impossible. Why? Have you talked to God?" Luke responded, thinking it was a hypothetical situation.

Joan nodded and Luke looked shocked.

"It started happening 2 years ago," she said, trying to change the look on Luke's face.

"Well, uh, um, wow! Why are you telling me this?" he recovered from shock and became skeptical.

"Because God said to tell people about it," she said plainly.

"Does anyone else know?" he seemed intrigued.

"Adam knows. And Ryan Hunter because he talks to God too. Don't tell anyone, okay," she didn't want her parents finding out yet.

"Okay," he said honestly.

"Okay, good. Well, goodnight," she replied as she got up to leave.

"Night," he answered before turning back to his computer to research experiences like the ones Joan was having.


	14. You Did This

Joan heard the door to the bookstore open.

"Hi! Can I help you with – oh, it's you," Joan cringed when she saw Ryan.

"Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see me?" Ryan pretended to look disappointed.

"Well, with a reputation like yours –," she was cut off by a loud boom coming from the storage room.

She turned to see what had happened.

"Oh, my god! You! You did this!" Joan yelled when she saw that the back room was on fire.

She ran to call the fire department, but the phone line was dead.

Ryan just continued to stand there, expressionless.

Joan ran to get her cell phone and when she turned back to Ryan he

was slipping out the door as a few unidentifiable men ran up to him.

She quickly called the fire department as she hurried out side.

After she made the call she looked around for Ryan but she couldn't see him anywhere.

Just as the fire department showed up so did Sammy.

"What the heck did you do?" Sammy yelled.

"I didn't, I was talking to someone in the front and then the storage room caught on fire. I'm so sorry!" Joan was shocked that he was blaming her.

"I'm sure your sorry because you're fired!" he was still yelling.

"Sammy, I, I didn't do it! Honest!" she pleaded.

Sammy didn't hear her, he was on his cell phone trying to calm his wife down.

Once the fire was put out she was asked dozens of questions by the officers, but all she knew was that Ryan had something to do with it.

She got home late that night, exhausted.

"Oh, honey! Thank God you're all right," Helen hugged her daughter.

"Do you know how it happened?" Will asked, concerned.

"Ryan, Ryan had something to do with it. I don't know what happened though," Joan said as she sat down.

"No, it couldn't have been him," he was surprised that she would assume it was Ryan.

"You're tired, honey. Why don't you go upstairs and get a good night's sleep. We'll talk in the morning," Helen said, stroking Joan's hair.

Joan nodded and headed upstairs.


	15. You Just Have To Believe Me

"Good morning sweetheart," Will said when Joan came down the next morning for breakfast.

"Morning Daddy," she replied.

"Look, honey, I need to get down to the station, but before I go I need you to tell me what happened, especially because of the bomb," he sat down with her at the table.

"It was a bomb?" she was surprised.

"A small one, but enough to do major damage to the store," Will wanted to get to the point.

"It was Ryan and his friends, I know you don't believe me but I know it was them," Joan was still upset.

"Why would you think it could be them, he's a great guy," he was puzzled.

"You just have to believe me. Ryan is bad, he's done other stuff too," Joan was deciding whether or not she should tell her father about God.

"Do you really think that Ryan could have been the one to burn the synagogue? We have reason to believe that's linked to the church vandalism and the station's vandalism. What reason would Ryan have for doing that?" Will was getting aggravated.

"Because he hates God and he has a thing against me, it's hard to explain," she shifted in her chair.

"Look honey, I want to believe you, but there's no evidence that Ryan Hunter would ever commit a crime like that," he got up from his chair.

Joan remained silent.

"I need to get to work," he kissed her on top of her head before going out the door.


	16. Be Not Afraid

"Be not afraid Adam," an angel disguised as a middle-aged homeless man said.

"Jeez!" Adam jumped, nearly dropping the garbage bag he was taking out to the trashcan.

"That's what I want you to do, be not afraid," the angel grinned.

"Afraid of what?" Adam put the lid on the trashcan.

"Of telling people. Tell people about me, don't keep it a secret," the angel played with his beard.

"I already told Jane," he replied.

"I know, and I'm glad you did, but there's more people to tell," he waved and left.

Adam headed back to the house.

"Rove!" Grace yelled as she hopped off her skateboard.

"Hey, Grace," he said absent-mindedly.

"Who's the loser you were talking to?" she said referring to the angel.

Adam made a funny face trying to decide whether or not to tell her.

"What?" Grace seemed annoyed.

"If I tell you, you'll think it's weird," Adam said, trying to make an excuse.

"Dude, everything you do is weird. Spill," she went inside with him.

"You know how when my mom died I started saying that I talk to angels?" he asked, handing her a pop tart.

"Yeah," she replied skeptically as she took the food.

"Well, I do," he said as he handed her a cup of coffee and poured some for himself.

"What!" Grace said with a mouth full of food.

"It just started happening. That guy you saw out there was one of them. They tell me to do stuff. I told Jane about a month ago. The angel said I should start telling people," Adam sat down with her.

"You're starting to go crazy like Joan, I knew you dating Girardi could lead to no good," she instantly realized what she said.

His face fell a bit and he felt like he was punched in the stomach.

"Dude, that's so not what I mean to say!" she felt bad.

"I know," he said, playing with his napkin.

"Do you believe me?" he asked after finishing his pop tart.

"It's really weird. I mean you've been weird your whole life, but this, I don't know. How do you know your not hallucinating or something?" she asked.

"I don't know, I just know that it's real," he answered.

"Well, I gotta go meet Luke, see ya dude!" she said leaving.

"Later, Grace," he replied.


	17. Just Drop It

Grace pondered what Adam had said as she walked to Luke's house.

…_Yeah, Adam's been a little out there all his life, but ever since his mom died, he's been really weird…._

…_Did he even tell me why he made up the whole 'I talk to angels' thing in the first place?... _

…_I don't think he did…. _

…_Girardi's kinda nuts herself, maybe that has something to do with it…._

…_Could that have really been an angel?..._

…_Ah, whatever, I'll never understand Rove, especially after the last stunt he pulled…._

She got to the Girardis' house and rang the doorbell.

"Hey Grace," Luke said when he opened the front door.

"Hey," she smiled slightly.

"What's wrong?" he could read the expression on her face.

"You know me to well geek," she said as they went upstairs.

He smiled and remained silent.

"Rove's just acting stranger than usual, that's all," she sat down at his desk.

"This better not have anything to do with Joan, you know I wanted to punch him," Luke started to get mad again.

"Chill, dude! Trust me, the guy's beat himself up enough as it is," she spun in his chair.

"You know, Adam may be a little out there but I never thought that he would do something like that," he replied as he sat down on his bed.

"Would you ever do that?" she mumbled as she looked at her shoes.

"What?" he didn't think he heard her right.

"Never mind," she said, still spinning the chair from side to side.

"Grace, if I heard you right, that is the most insane question you could ever ask me!" he said strongly.

"Well, if you heard me right, good!" she said, smiling a smile that was very unlike Grace.

"Why would you even think I would do that, Grace?" Luke seemed puzzled.

"Just drop it, dude," she answered, playing with a scientific instrument of some sort on his desk.


	18. You Can't Talk To God

"Dad?" Joan came into the den where he was working on bills.

"Yeah honey?" he looked up from the papers.

"You know how we were talking about Ryan this morning?" she sat down on the couch.

"Uh-huh," Will replied.

"And how I said that he hates God and has a thing against me?" she continued.

"Yeah," he said, curious as to where this was leading.

"Well the reason he doesn't like me is because I talk to God," Joan looked at him hoping he wouldn't laugh or something.

"Lot's of people pray, I'm sure it's something else," he reassured her.

"No, I talk to God, as in, I see God and he talks to me," Joan replied.

"You can't talk to God," Will said with a chuckle.

Joan sighed.

"I'm sure you talk to very good people, and maybe in your dreams you talk to Him, but that's impossible-," he was cut off by Joan's cell phone ringing.

"Hello?" she had seen the ID and recognized the ring, it was God.

"Don't give up Joan," He said.

"Well, it's not working, what am I supposed to do?" Joan said, frustrated.

"Just keep trying, trust me," with that God hung up.

"Who was that?" he asked because of the strange conversation.

"God," she said plainly as she put the phone on the table.

"Funny," Will replied at what he thought was her attempt at humor.

"I'm serious! Why can't you believe me?" she said with more frustration than intended as she left the room.


	19. This Is Getting Too Freaky For Me

"Grace! Grace! Wait up!" Adam said frantically when he saw Grace walking a few yards ahead of him.

"Jeez, what's with the yelling?" she gave him an annoyed look.

"Did you hear about Skylight Bookstore? Is she okay?" he looked desperate for an answer.

"Dude, chill. I was over there earlier, Joan's fine," Grace said.

"Oh, good," still, he wanted to see for himself.

They walked to the Girardis' house in silence and when they got there Grace rang the doorbell.

Joan answered the door and Adam rushed up to hug her much like the way she hugged him after he was rescued from the woods.

Awkward as it was, Joan hugged him back.

"I told ya she was fine. Hey geek," Grace passed Joan and Adam to sit down on the couch next to Luke.

"Are, are you okay?" Adam stroked her hair.

"I'm fine Adam, I promise," she assured him.

"Hi kids. Tell your mother I was called down to the station," Will rushed past the group and out the door.

After Will rushed out Joan and Adam went into the living room.

"Jane, did God warn you about this?" Adam asked.

"No, it doesn't usually work that way," she shook her head.

"What are you guys talking about?" Grace questioned.

"God, Grace. I've talked to God ever since I came to Arcadia," Joan stated.

"What? Dude, you talk to God and Rove talks to angels? This is getting too freaky for me!" she responded.

"Adam talks to angels?" Luke was confused.

"Yeah, since the beginning of summer," Adam said to Luke.

Joan and Adam proceeded to explain their confusing stories to Luke and Grace.


	20. That's Your Perspective

After talking with Luke, Grace and Joan for a while, Adam headed back to his house.

"Hi Adam," said the angel who was the first to come to him.

"Hi," he replied.

"Make sure you get to work on time tomorrow," she told him.

"Okay," it seemed easy enough.

"Go to Ryan Hunter's department," the angel continued.

"Alright," he replied.

Though Ryan got him a job at the newspaper a few months ago, he was just the runner and hardly ever saw Ryan.

"You need to tell him that you can't work for him anymore. You need to quit your job," she said firmly.

"Why?" Adam asked accidentally.

"You know I won't answer that Adam," she responded.

"Sorry, it just kinda slipped, yo," he said sheepishly.

She smiled at him.

"How come God didn't warn Jane about the bomb?" he asked the question that had been bugging him.

"There are many things that happen that you can't understand yet. Give it time Adam, you'll understand. Like your mother's note, it took you a long time before you read it, but when you did it brought you closer to Joan," she explained.

"But now it's all messed up," he sighed.

"That's your perspective," the angel walked off waving.


	21. That's God Alright

"Joan can I talk to you for a minute?" Helen asked after Adam went home and Luke and Grace went upstairs.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I know you're probably going to be mad at me, but I overheard your conversation," Helen admitted.

"You were spying on me?" Joan was a bit upset.

"No, I was passing by and I heard Grace raise her voice about you and Adam," she explained.

"Oh, well, it's true," Joan said, sitting down.

"I'm not surprised," she said, sitting across from her daughter.

"Huh?" Joan raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do you remember the morning before you went to the hospital last year?" Helen questioned.

"Yeah, I was all itchy and gross," she replied in disgust.

"Do you remember me telling you the dream I had about God? He had a brown corduroy coat and then turned into you," she continued.

"Yeah, that's God. It's how He looked when he first started coming around," Joan said.

"Okay, I'm going to need more details Joan," Helen was confused.

"Two years ago God started showing up. He always looks different though. The day I thought a pervert was in the yard, that was actually God. That was the first time I saw Him and then later He was that guy in the corduroy coat. I kinda yelled at Him and told Him to go away, but ever since then He's been sending me on all these weird missions. Cheerleading, chess, debate…" she trailed off.

"You yelled at God?" she chuckled at the thought.

"Yeah. How come you believe me?" Joan asked in surprise.

"Ever since that night I dreamed about God, I've had other dreams. I dreamed about the church getting destroyed, I dreamed about fire and Grace Polk right before the synagogue was burned. I dreamed about the bomb. I don't have them often, but when I do, it always comes true," she told Joan.

"So, you could, like, warn people about stuff that's going to happen?" she asked.

"I've never had the dreams soon enough to warn anybody," she replied.

"Oh, well do you see the bad guys in your dreams?" Joan questioned.

"No, it's more cryptic than that," Helen sighed.

"Yep, that's God alright," she said, looking annoyed.


	22. I Dreamed About It

"Hey Will. Joan told me you got called down to the station. What happened?" Helen asked when he came home late that evening.

"Kevin wasn't at work today was he?" Will asked, worried.

"No, he's in his room. Why?" she became nervous.

"The Herald was bombed," he sat down, exhausted, at the kitchen table.

"Was anyone hurt?" Helen asked as she fixed his supper.

"Nothing fatal, but a few minor injuries," he replied.

"Do you think it was the same people that bombed the bookstore?" she put a plate of food in front of him and sat down.

"It's too soon to tell. We did find evidence that proved the bookstore case is connected to the synagogue and the church and the vandalism. I just don't know why someone would want to destroy a town like this," Will said.

"I dreamed about it," Helen seemed to ignore his comment.

"Dreamed about what?" Will looked confused.

"The church, I dreamed clowns destroyed it and then I dreamed about Grace and fire. I dreamed about the vandalism, Joan and the bookstore. Last night I dreamed about clowns throwing exploding water balloons at the Herald," she admitted.

"Is this like the koala bears in hats?" he asked.

"No Will. Lily says it's like a gift from God," Helen chuckled.

"No, this has nothing to do with God. It's a criminal that needs to be caught, nothing else," Will was getting annoyed.

"Well, how do you explain the dreams then?" she countered.

"I don't know Helen," he said before leaving the room.


	23. Go To Grace's House

Adam headed off to work the next day trying to figure out what to tell Ryan.

Taking his beanie off because of the heat of early July he turned a corner expecting to see the Herald, instead he saw caution tape and a wreck of what used to be the section where he worked.

"What happened yo?" he asked, coming up to a co-worker.

"You didn't hear? Bombed, late last night, nobody was hurt though," the man, Peter, replied.

"Good morning Adam, Peter. Terrible sight isn't it?" Ryan asked as he approached his employees.

Adam remained silent and Peter made an excuse to leave, obviously uncomfortable around his boss.

"Did they find out who did it?" Adam asked, remembering what Joan had told him about Ryan.

"No, unfortunately," he smirked slightly.

"I, uh, I need to quit my job Ryan," he stuttered.

"Why Adam? The Herald will be rebuilt, don't worry," Ryan said.

"I know, but I still need to quit," Adam insisted.

"I wish you wouldn't, you are a very good worker. Now I know you may feel a little cheated, after all I did promise you an internship. You will, you will, just give it time," he said slyly.

"It's just not working out, okay? I quit," he was suddenly upset, though he couldn't quite explain why.

Adam walked off and ran into an angel that resembled a hippie.

"Go to Grace's house. Hurry," she said to him.

"Huh? Oh, okay," befuddled, he headed to Grace's house.

The angel went with him a while before turning a corner and waving.


	24. An Angel Told Me To Come Over

Adam knocked and let himself into Grace's house like he always did.

"Hi Mrs. Polanski, is Grace home?" he asked her when he found her in the kitchen.

"She's in her room Adam, go on up," Sarah smiled at him.

Adam went upstairs and to her room.

"Grace, can I come in?" he opened the door slightly.

"Sure," she replied, not looking up from her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Adam sat down next to her on the bed.

"IMing," she mumbled, distractedly.

"GravityBoy?" he chuckled as he read the screen name.

"It's Luke," Grace informed him.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that," he replied.

Grace typed awhile longer before logging off.

"So, why are you here?" she asked, putting the computer away.

"I don't know. An angel told me to come over, so I did," he answered.

"What, these angels run your life now?" she asked.

"Wouldn't you do what they said?" Adam asked in return.

"I don't know Dude, the whole thing is just weird," Grace said.

"What's up with your mom? She seemed different this morning," Adam asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, that. It's nothing. She's just tired that's all," Grace replied.

Adam didn't say anything, he knew her well enough to know she'd tell him whatever it was soon enough, if it even was something.

"That Ryan Hunter dude came over last night," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Apparently to offer his deepest sympathies on the loss of our synagogue," she said in mock imitation of Ryan.

"The sympathy took three hours and supper to express though. That guy freaks me out," she added.

"Yeah. Hey, I quit my job today," he said.

"What for?" Grace asked, confused.

"Angels," he replied.

"Dude, I don't know if I can handle two friends that are spinning out," she joked.

"Well, at least your boyfriend isn't crazy," he joked back.

"You kidding? Have you heard that guy talk about science?" she replied.

The two talked awhile longer and Adam still had no clue what the angel wanted him at Grace's for.


	25. There Was Another Bomb

Grace and Adam's conversation was interrupted by the phone ringing.

"What?" Grace asked when she picked up the phone.

"Grace, this is Adam's dad. He isn't there by any chance is he?" Carl asked nervously.

"Yeah, he's here. Why?" she questioned.

"The Herald, where Adam works, there was another bomb," he answered.

"Oh, geez. Here, I'll let Adam talk to you," she handed the phone over and went to the living room to turn on the news.

After Adam got off the phone he came and sat down on the couch to watch the news with her.

"Dude, I guess you figured out why you were supposed to be here, huh?" Grace commented.

"Yeah, I guess so," he replied as the continued to stare at the screen.

The exact section where Adam would have been working was now gone. The reporter said that 8 people were injured but no one was killed, thankfully the bomb went off when most people were on their lunch breaks.

Grace was about to shut the TV off when the reporter announced that they had breaking news.

"This just in, local police have arrested 2 suspects they saw fleeing the crime scene. They have been charged and are being investigated as to find out if they are linked with the recent bombings and other recent crimes in Arcadia," the reporter read from the papers on his desk.

"I'm gonna go home, talk to my dad. You sure you don't want to tell me what's up?" Adam asked, standing up.

"Dude, I'm fine. Go," she shut the TV off and walked him to the door.

"Bye Grace," he waved and walked off.

"Later Rove," she replied.


	26. He Said He Believed Me

Joan was sitting on the couch trying to find something on TV when she came across the news.

"Oh, god," Joan panicked.

"Mom, I gotta go!" she yelled, rushing to the door.

"Where are you going?" Helen asked, walking in the room.

"I have to see if Adam's okay," was all she said before leaving her mother bewildered.

Helen turned to the television, ready to shut it off, when she saw the news.

"Kevin," she said out loud before picking up the phone and nervously calling Kevin's cell phone.

"Hello?" Kevin said into the phone.

"Are you okay?" she choked out.

"I'm fine mom. I was out on an interview when it happened," he reassured her.

"Thank God," Helen sighed in relief.

Meanwhile Joan was running to Adam's house. She got to his door, breathing hard, and rang the bell.

"Joan, what are you doing here?" Carl asked.

"Adam, where's Adam? Is he alright?" Joan said in worry.

"He's fine Joan, don't worry. He in the shed, why don't you go talk to him," Carl answered calmly.

Joan turned and headed to the shed.

"Adam," she nearly whispered from the doorway.

"Jane," he replied as Joan went to hug him.

"I was so worried," she finally said, pulling back from the hug.

"It's okay Jane," he said.

He proceeded to tell her what the angel had told him to do and all the events of the morning.

"Wow. Have you told your dad that yet?" she asked.

"Yeah, I told him when I got home," Adam replied.

"What'd he say?" Joan questioned.

"He said he believed me," he answered.

"Jane, Kevin wasn't at work today was he?" Adam asked after a pause.

"Oh no, I was so worried about you I forgot he got called in this morning," she replied as she dialed her home phone.

Joan talked briefly with her mother before hanging up.

"He's okay, he was out when it happened. I'd better get going. I'm glad you're okay," she hugged him once more before leaving.


	27. I'm Not Jumping To Conclusions

It was a week before the start of school when Will told his family the breakthrough on the case.

"Jerry and David Hunter were proven guilty today, they're going to prison for a very long time. It turns out they had a whole history of stuff like this, back from when they were teenagers," Will said, referring to the men that had fled the crime scene at the Herald a month ago.

"Wait, Hunter. Are they related to Ryan Hunter?" Joan asked, perched on the kitchen counter.

"Cousins," he replied, helping Helen fix dinner.

"I told you Ryan Hunter had something to do with this," Joan said.

"We don't have any evidence," he answered.

"Honey, I know you think Ryan had something to do with it, but maybe you are just jumping to conclusions," Helen said.

"I'm not jumping to conclusions," she insisted.

"Joan, if it makes you feel any better I'll have a look at Ryan's criminal records tomorrow, see if there's anything fishy," he said, trying to prove Joan wrong.

"Thank you," she said before jumping off the counter and leaving the room.

"What made her get the idea Ryan is such a bad person?" Will asked Helen.

"God maybe," Helen suggested.

Will only sighed, he didn't want to discuss God at the moment.

"Kids, dinner!" Helen called, she knew Will didn't want to talk anymore.


	28. Well, You've Always Been A Little Off

That Saturday Joan was watching TV when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Joan said, heading to the door.

She opened the door to see a postal worker.

"Can I help you?" Joan asked.

"I want you to talk to Kevin," God said, handing Joan the mail.

"God hand delivers mail?" Joan asked.

"When I need you to do something," He replied.

"What do You want me to talk to Kevin about?" she questioned.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," He said, walking off and waving.

Joan sighed as she shut the door. Finding a few pieces of mail that were Kevin's, she went to his room and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Kevin called.

"Hey Kev, here's your mail," Joan put it on his desk.

"Uh, thanks. Why are you bringing me my mail?" he asked.

"No reason. Hey you want talk or something?" Joan asked not quite as subtly as she planned.

"About…" Kevin was slightly suspicious.

"You know how that psychic said you'll dance at your wedding?" Joan started as she sat down on his bed.

"Yeah, but remember, she got stuff wrong. It's probably not true," Kevin replied.

"But she also said I have a special connection to the universe. Remember?" she continued.

"I remember. So what is this special connection?" he asked.

"I talk to God," Joan said plainly.

"Uh huh," was Kevin's reply.

"You don't believe me?" Joan asked.

"Well, you've always been a little off," Kevin admitted.

"Hey!" she accused.

"I do though. He looks like different people and tells me to do stuff," she said after a pause.

"How do you know it's God?" he asked.

"I just do, it's hard to explain," was all she said.

"Huh. I guess I believe you. It's just hard to wrap my mind around," he responded.

"Yeah, well, God told me to tell people about my whole talking to him thing, so I just thought you should know," she said standing up to leave.

"Hey, Joan. Was God the people you kept seeing last year? You know, the reason you went to camp?" Kevin questioned.

"Yeah, why?" she replied.

"No reason," he said.

Joan left Kevin in his room to think. He didn't know what to think though.


	29. Senior Year

It was the first day of school and Luke had already left. Though not without teasing from Joan since she knew about the biology closet.

"Hey Geek," Grace said when Luke entered the closet.

"Hey," he answered, sitting down.

"Didn't think you'd wear it," he commented, noticing the anarchy shirt he had given her.

"What made you think I wouldn't wear it?" Grace argued.

"I don't know. I just thought that since – " Luke started.

Grace kissed him to shut him up.

"So, what did your sister say when she found out you were skipping a grade?" Grace asked.

"I think she's okay with it. We'll see," he replied.

The bell rang a few minutes later and they got up to leave.

"Eew," Joan stated as she saw them exiting the biology closet.

"Hey guys," Glyins said in her usual nervous way.

"Senior year!" Friedman exclaimed, joining the group.

They talked as they headed to their first class. Their schedules were almost identical.

"Hey," Adam said, catching up to them.

"Hey," Joan echoed.

"Dude, did you hear that I'm a senior this year?" Friedman asked Adam.

"Uh, yeah," he answered.

"Oh," he replied, slightly bummed.


	30. I Owe You An Apology

"Hey Joan, how was school?" Will asked late that night as she did some homework.

"Luke is in every class with me, Friedman is in all except two and they gave us homework on the first day," she sighed.

"Hey, I owe you an apology," Will said, sitting down next to her.

"What for?" Joan asked, putting her pencil down and leaning back in her chair.

"We arrested Ryan Hunter today," he started.

"Oh," she answered.

"His cousin, Jerry, he was interrogated again and admitted that they were working for him. We did a lie detector test on Ryan, Jerry and David. We still have a lot of work to do, but you were right," Will explained.

"How long will he be in prison?" Joan asked.

"Depends, we still have people to question, we might find more evidence," he responded.

"Wow," she said.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Sweetheart, I want to believe that you and Ryan talk to God, but it's just not that easy," Will said after a brief silence.

"It was hard for me to believe too," Joan responded.

"Kevin told me that the people you were seeing last year, the reason you went to camp, was God," Will said.

"Yeah. Wait, you not going to send me back there or anything are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, were not. I was just asking," he assured her.

"Good," Joan said, relieved.

"I'm trying to believe you, I just need time. Okay?" Will asked, getting up from his chair.

"Okay," she answered.


	31. Dude, It's Fine

"Grace, what's going on with your mom?" Luke asked one afternoon after school in the biology closet.

"What do you mean?" Grace asked in return.

"Well, she hasn't been at your house when I come over lately and you haven't talked about her much," he replied.

"So," was all she said.

"So, I want to know if everything is okay," Luke insisted.

"Dude, it's fine," she snapped.

"No it's not Grace. What is it?" he said firmly.

"She's in rehab," Grace mumbled.

"That's good, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Luke asked, confused.

"Didn't feel like mentioning it," she shrugged.

"Grace…" Luke started.

"She's got cancer, okay!" Grace finally admitted, clearly upset.

Luke just did exactly what he had done when she first told him about her mother. He just hugged her not knowing what to say.

She didn't pull away either, she hugged him back.

"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to make a big deal of it," she explained a few minutes later.

"I wouldn't make a big deal of it. I just want to be sure you're alright," he assured her.

"The doctors say she'll be okay if she quits drinking because they found it early on," she said.

Luke remained silent and put an arm around her shoulder.


	32. I'm Going To Ask You To Do Two Things

"Hi Adam," said the angel that first came to him.

"Hi," he said quietly because they were in the school library.

"I'm going to ask you to do two things," she said, sitting next to him.

"Two?" he repeated, unsure.

"Yes. I want you to go to Grace's house again today," she replied.

"Okay. Is another building going to be destroyed?" he asked.

"There's nothing to worry about Adam," she smiled.

"What's the second thing?" Adam questioned.

"The second thing is that I want you to go on a date this Friday," the angel told him.

"I don't have anybody to ask," he said plainly.

"Yes you do," she said.

"Who?" he asked, confused.

"Joan," she stood up and started walking away.

"I'd recommend you ask her before the end of school," she said as she waved over her shoulder.

Unsure of how to ask her Adam walked to his locker and put his books away. He pulled out what he needed and headed to his next class.

"Hey Adam," Joan said sweetly.

"Oh, hi Jane," he replied distractedly.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," he answered, deciding he could ask her later.


	33. I Want You To Go Out On A Date Friday

Just after Adam left Joan headed to her own locker.

Cute Boy God walked up to Joan at leaned against the neighboring locker.

"Sheesh, do you have to sneak up on people like that?" Joan jumped, seeing Him only after shutting her locker.

"I don't sneak Joan," He said.

"I know, You're everywhere," she replied.

"Right. I need you to do something for Me," God told her.

"What?" Joan asked, slightly annoyed at having one more thing to do.

"I want you to go out on a date Friday," He replied.

"A date. With who?" she questioned.

"You'll know. You may not want to, but you need to," He walked away and waved.

Joan rolled her eyes and turned to go to her next class.

At lunch Adam came and sat next to her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Adam asked her.

"Dude, you just did," Friedman stated.

"Sure, what's up?" Joan said to him, ignoring Friedman.

"Uh, alone," Adam said.

"Okay," Joan followed him to an empty table.

"I know this sounds weird and you may not want to go with me, but will you go out with me this Friday?" Adam asked, hoping he wouldn't have to tell the angels he failed a mission.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Joan answered, remembering her latest mission.

"You will!" Adam said excitedly.

"Yeah," she smiled, unsure of how awkward it would be.

"Okay, so you want to go see a movie?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied.

"Alright, I'll pick you up at seven," Adam said.

"Okay. So I guess we should get back to the table," Joan said, seeing Friedman get smacked by Grace and Glynis.

"Yeah," he answered, walking back with her.

"What was that all about?" Grace asked when they returned.

Adam and Joan exchanged glances.

"Nothing," Joan stated as she sat down.

"Hey Grace, you mind if I come over this afternoon?" Adam asked.

"Uh, sure," she responded, confused by all the weirdness.


	34. Cha, Sewer Walking

"Hey Grace," Adam said, letting himself into her house.

"Hey, what'd you want to come over for?" Grace asked from the couch.

"Dunno, just though I'd come over," he said sitting beside her.

"Getting a little spacy on me Rove," she commented.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Adam replied.

"I've got a date on Friday," he finally said.

"What?" Grace said in shock.

"With Jane," he reassured her.

"And she said yes? To you?" she asked.

"Yes Grace," he said, slightly annoyed.

"Where's your mom? She's usually home after school," Adam asked.

"Oh, she's just out," Grace replied casually.

"You've been acting weird all summer, so have your parents," he noted.

"No we haven't," she argued.

"Yeah, you have," he argued back.

"Dude, we sound like we're ten again," Grace said, ending the argument.

"We've always been able to talk, I know something's going on, tell me," he pried.

"You really want to know?" she asked, frustrated.

He nodded.

"She's got cancer so they put her in rehab," she spat.

He sat in shock for a minute, letting what she said sink in.

"Come on let's go for a walk," he said, reaching for her hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked him even though she knew.

"Cha, sewer walking," he answered.


End file.
